Numerous processes are presently practiced for the production of butenes and butadienes. However, the most prevalent is the thermal cracking of higher hydrocarbons and thermal dehydrogenation. Similarly, numerous processes are available for the production of bibenzyl and stilbene isomers from toluene. The bibenzyl and stilbene isomers are quite valuable, to the extent that they are readily converted by known methods to styrene which is utilized as a monomer in polymer production. However, the most prevalent technique is the oxidative conversion of toluene, in the presence of a reducible metal oxide catalyst. The production of acrylonitrile is also subject to various techniques, including treatment of propylene with catalysts in the presence of oxygen and ammonia, the conversion of acetonitrile plus formaldehyde in the presence of phosphate catalysts, the dehydrogenation of ethylene cyanohydrine, etc.
However, all of these techniques possess one or more undesirable qualities, such as, requiring severe conditions, resulting in low conversions or poor selectivities to the desired products, requiring expensive feed stocks, or producing undesirable side products.
More recently, novel contact materials have been discovered which increase the conversion and selectivity to desired products in methods for the oxidative conversion of feed organic compounds to product organic compounds. While this discussion and the discussions hereinafter, at times, refer to certain components of these contact materials as "base materials" and others as "promoters", it is to be understood that these designations are made as a matter of convenience in identification, rather than by way of function. In all instances, the base materials, as well as the promoters, are active components of the contact material and the base materials are not inert "bases" or "carriers", as the designation sometimes indicates or implies.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 713,653, 713,756 and 713,674, all filed on Mar. 19, 1985, relate to the use of Group IIA materials as base materials. Likewise, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 713,673, filed Mar. 19, 1985, relates to zinc as a base material. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 742,340, filed June 7, 1985, refers to titanium as a base material. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 742,337, filed June 7, 1985, refers to Lanthanum Series metals as base materials. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 945,129, filed Dec. 22, 1986, relates to certain combinations of these base materials. Each of these base materials is preferably promoted with a Group IA metal promoter. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 742,339, filed June 7, 1985 (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,057), relates to contact materials comprising cobalt, a metal selected from the group consisting of zirconium, zinc, nickel, indium, lead and bismuth, phosporous, at least one Group IA metal and oxygen, application Ser. No. 742,338, filed June 7, 1985, relates to the use of Group IA and/or Group 1IIA metal phoshates as contact materials. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 945,123, filed Dec. 22, 1986, relates to the use of a contact material comprising cobalt, at least one Group IA metal, silica and oxygen. All of the above-mentioned contact materials can also be further enhanced by the addition of a halogen thereto. In accordance with U.S. patent application 742,335, filed June 7, 1985, the halogen can be supplied by at least intervally adding the halogen or a halogen precursor to the reaction zone. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 947,235, filed Dec. 29, 1986, utilizes water as a co-feed in these techniques. The entire contents of each of these patent applications and patents are incorporated herein by reference.